A shortage of affordable houses in Ireland is leading housing experts, politicians and commentators there to search for solutions. However, Fergus Merriman of Merriman Solutions, a chartered building surveyor (a general contractor in Ireland) and a member of...
Beginning in mid-2020, lumber prices have seen record increases and, despite recent declines, remain at historic highs. As the construction industry bounces back from the pandemic, home builders report having good results with cold-formed steel (CFS) framing, which is...
The cold-formed steel (CFS) framing production output continued to grow in the second quarter 2021, reaching full recovery in output levels after a rocky 2020. According to the latest Quarterly Market Data Report for Q2 2021, released by the Steel Framing Industry...
As the construction industry bounces back from the pandemic, building developers are hoping to get projects done on time. With lumber still at premium levels, architecture firm DSGNworks is looking to cold-formed steel (CFS) to save time, money and labor shortages for...
Excalibur Construction, Inc., Sheridan, Wy., used to order its building materials on a per-house basis. As of May, the firm was ordering materials by the semi-truck, even though bulk purchasing doesn’t solve all supply bottlenecks. “There are definitely longer wait...
The building method for wood-framed homes in the United States has changed little since the mid-1800s. Due to current construction methods, maintenance is often required after only a few decades for wood-framed homes. Today, new building methods and durable framing...
Despite a recent drop in price, lumber still costs about 80% more now than it did before the pandemic began. “Lumber prices may have fallen but they are still elevated, creating new headaches for the critical housing sector,” says an NPR report. Builders say the...
The United States faces a severe housing shortage. “Years of underbuilding has created a large deficit, particularly for states with strong economies that have attracted a lot of people from other states,” says the report, The Housing Supply Shortage: State of the...
A fire that broke out at the “Steel Cow” building in Waukon, Iowa, was stunted by the presence of cold-formed steel (CFS) framing in the structure. The April 6, 2021 fire was called in quickly and firefighters arrived promptly, which helped slow down the blaze, but...